11 things I don't like about the E4GT...

[skyo12]

Poor WiMax reception? Did you NOT take a couple weeks to test drive the network? That is 100% your fault.

In his defense, I use Clear Internet at home (Same network) with a modem and the signals are perfectly fine while the Epic Touch has trouble maintaining the consistency. I do think the WiMax radio that is built in is a bit weak.

 

[Cobravision]

The Wimax radio on the phone is weaker than the dedicated 4G modem? That's not really shocking.

There is simply no contest between Wimax on my Evo 4G and E4GT. The E4GT gets 4G in places the Evo couldn't lock, locks on to 4G is 2-3X faster than the Evo, and doesn't slow the phone to a crawl.

 

[linzgeneral]

Chill, it is a little opinion to go with an opinion.
btw, your GPS is broke. Are you roaming? Try rebooting your phone once in awhile for better mileage. The phone is pencil thin, yes, you will feel the warmth, but it won't burn you. Like a powerful laptop, it heats up. You know this right?

What I do know it that a phone should not heat up this fast and this much - cant play a darn video for 30 seconds without an oven glove - really annoyed and disappointed. My phones go back to the Samsung I500, and I've had pretty much every good phone available along the way (except I-phone)..you name em I had em. NONE of them heat up like this, not this fast and not to the degree of heat I am experiencing. Could just be defective, but I am keeping tabs. The fact is the phone is far from perfect but nothing is so I am just hoping for improvements to most of the nuisances. The superior quality of still pics and video capture alone makes me overlook most issues.

 

[skyo12]

The Wimax radio on the phone is weaker than the dedicated 4G modem? That's not really shocking.

There is simply no contest between Wimax on my Evo 4G and E4GT. The E4GT gets 4G in places the Evo couldn't lock, locks on to 4G is 2-3X faster than the Evo, and doesn't slow the phone to a crawl.

lol, that's definitely true.

 

[Johnly]

Well fellas, I admit, the phone gets warm, but I have a case. Today while watching a video onlne, the sprint network killed me. Definitely slow today. Seeing how they changed the hotspot feature to a 5gb cap, I really don't have more incentive to stay with them other than this amazing phone. They may hate me.

 

[Slingbox]

hmm what i don't like.
I'm not playing fanboy here but Im loving everything about this device.
No signal issue coverage is strong in my area and has gotten even better since 5GB cap took effect.
I live pretty close to very big shopping area -Lynhaven Mall in Va Beach,
Lots of vendors are no longer sucking up data intern network speed has increased.

 

[h4ldol]

Wow! Thanks for all the great suggestions and feedback.

I did not know about the separate brightness settings for the browser (which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and it's unfortunate that you can't link the general brightness settings with the browser brightness settings, because I like to use the brightness (4x1) widget (the one with wifi/bluetooth/gps/brightness/settings).

I also didn't know about the ability to select multipe emails (although not all) in the stock email app, although I prefer the Hotmail app that was recently released.

I think some folks misunderstood what I meant about the lock screen issue. The issue for me, is that when the screen is turned off and I press the power button to use the phone, it takes a full second for the PIN/lock screen to pop up so that I can unlock the phone. In my Evo 4G it happened almost instantaneously, so it's mildly annoying that I have to wait a whole second for it to pop up in the E4GT. Not a big issue, but a small annoyance that I've already become pretty used to by now.

Also, for the 'inertial dragging/flicking' of the notification bar (and btw yes, I know what inertia is as I have taken 2 semesters of college-level physics at a top 25 university ), the issue is that when you flick up (or down, but to a lesser extent), the notification bar moves up slowly at first, then picks up some speed to complete the trip up. This is awkward and sometimes leads to the bar falling back down when you flick it upwards. In the Evo 4G, a flick would send it shooting up at a constant rate (hence, inertia -- an object that is moving continues to move at a constant velocity) all the way up to the top, without a slower velocity at first. Anyway, it really isn't a big deal either, more of a nit picky thing to point out or a matter of personal preference.

And btw, I don't think the phone gets too hot at all, not any warmer than my Evo 4G at least.

Thanks for the help and input.

 

[milominderbinde]

Get this phone replaced. You have a bad GPS, your WiFi gets low signal no matter where you are, and your touchscreen is not working right. Once replaced, here are answers to your other issues. Note that different users want different things but in most cases there are apps that will do things just as you prefer.

1. Poorly functioning Auto-brightness
→ Turn off Auto-brightness. Long-press notification bar and drag left or right to change brightness.
→ Use Brightness Level to put a widget on screen. Tap to instantly set any brightness you like.

2. Screen dimming issue with stock browser
→ The stock browser has it's own brightness control: Tap Menu > Brightness.
→ Maybe try one of the popular free Browsers like Dolphin or Opera?

3. Slow Notification light blinking speed/rate
→ Many seem to like Light Flow

4. Lock screen lag
→ See the Getting Started section on Setup.

Lock Screen and Themes
• Lock screen: No Lock - Disables lock screen, phone opens fast. • Widget Locker ($2) lets you customize it.
• Themes: LauncherPro ($3 full), ADW.Launcher ($3 full), GO Launcher EX (free), change layout, and more without rooting.
​

5. Inability to select emails in stock Email app
→ See the Getting Started section on Email.

Delete
- • To delete one email, tap the email then tap Menu > Delete -or- • Long-press an email listing then tap delete
- • To delete multiple emails in a folder tap Menu > Delete > Check the emails > Delete
​

6. (Sometimes) slow GPS locking speed
→ See the Getting Started section on Extend Your Battery - Speed Up Your Phone. → → Your phone is so bad it just has to be replaced
→ For anyone else, periodically resetting your GPS can save battery and get a fix quicker.

Enhance Your GPS
Turn on GPS when needed: Tap Home > Menu > Settings > Location and security.
• Turn Use wireless networks ON, Use GPS satellites ON, and Use sesor aiding ON.
• GPS takes a lot of power especially when navigating. Turn OFF when not needed.
Periodically reset GPS data and download fresh data for faster GPS fix & to save battery.
• Install GPS Status & Toolbox (free, $3 upgrade) and open app to see your GPS accuracy
• Tap Menu > Tools > Manage A-GPS state and tap Reset then tap Download.
• Test your GPS: Tap Menu > Settings > Show time to GPS fix
​

7. (Always) poor Wifi connection stability
→ If it is always poor you have a bad phone. Replace it. It should have been full bars near the WiFi.

8. Poor WiMax reception?
See: How to Increase Sprint Epic 4G Touch 3G & 4G Data Speeds
and Article - How to Improve Your Samsung Epic 4G Signal

9. Inability to keep display turned on continuously (e.g. can't turn off the screen timeout)
→ See the Getting Started section on Extend Your Battery - Speed Up Your Phone.

Display
Set a short Display time-out: Tap Home > Settings > Display > Screen Timeout, 1 min or less.
• Stay Awake Widget keeps the display on when charging but dimmed. No unlock needed on charger!
• Screebl (free, $2 upgraded) Senses keeps the display on when you are using it. Website
​

10. Swiping to answer call on stock dialer/phone
→ That is on purpose to keep you from answering accidentally.

11. Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar
→ Again, you just have a defective phone. A quick flick up or a drag to half-way up closes it for everyone else.

Again, you have a bad phone. Get it replaced. No one should have the problems you have had.

 

[mistsc]

The notification bar seems to be working with the qyro. Turn the top of the phone towards the ground and no lag.

 

[Cory Streater]

Regarding the browser: as mentioned, there is an easy fix for it via a setting in the browser itself. The reason it's there is because the majority of what you're viewing in a browser is on a white background. White pixels consume more power than black one's do, thus the idea of giving the user an additional brightness option. That said, like most browsers that come on Android phones, it's the very first app that I replace. Not being able to change the User Agent to desktop, is reason enough to not use it.

Yes the Seattle/Tacoma area is weak. In downtown Seattle you will be lucky if you're getting anything above 500 Mbps in either direction on 3G and 2MB on 4G.

 

[handsomeprince#AC]

Hello folks. When scrolled all the way to the bottom of a webpage..any way to fast scroll back to the top w/o flicking up and up and up?

 

[dammitcubs]

Yeah this is the best phone. The battery life rivals that of my Nexus S with Root Rom and it can run any movie I choose. 720p, 1080p ...EVERYTHING. It's a computer in my hand and I love it.

trading in my Nexus S for this phone was the right decision. Because of the overhaul needed from a performance standpoint to keep the phone smooth as the iPhone 4...you need a processor like exynos. Finally a phone that rivals the iPhone!!! I have waited 3 years for this day. All other android phones are just jokers.

 

[jkrezdorn]

[/B]Lack of 'inertial' dragging of the drag down notification bar
→ Again, you just have a defective phone. A quick flick up or a drag to half-way up closes it for everyone else.

Again, you have a bad phone. Get it replaced. No one should have the problems you have had.

I was having the same problem. I would flick it up and it woud drop back down. I had to drag it all the way to the top. before it would not drop down again. Odd thing I noticed this morning, it is working perfect. I can just give it a little push and it rolls right to the top. How could that have fixed itself?
Or did I get some type of update?

 

[wrceuro]

What about the inability to change the bottom icons? You are stuck with 3 pointless icons at the bottom tray and you can't change them.

 

[Murphy5111]

What about the inability to change the bottom icons? You are stuck with 3 pointless icons at the bottom tray and you can't change them.

You actually can. There may be another way than this but bring up all applications, click edit and drag the icon down to the one you want to replace

 

[YBCold]

Let's be clear, there is very little on this phone that cannot be modified from a UI standpoint, so of you think something can't be done just take a minute and ask the question before you get your panties in a bunch!

Smile

Man I love this phone and hope I dont have to switch to verizon when my company gets away from At&terribleservice!

Sent from my GS2 E4GT using Tapatalk!

 

[milominderbinde]

What about the inability to change the bottom icons? You are stuck with 3 pointless icons at the bottom tray and you can't change them.

As said above

See the 25 Reasons to Consider the Epic 4G Touch for this and much more. This one is under

It's Customizable
...
? Change dock icons (Phone/Contact/Messaging): Tap App Drawer > Menu > Edit > drag an icon up


​

 

[rockdiesel]

I have an EVO 4G and its rooted running an AOSP Rom 2.3.5. As the 11 items were explained above, my Evo acts the same. Isn't the E4GT running Android 2.3.5? I don't think Samsung really manipulates the Android OS to much with TouchWiz either. I just think it's changes to the Android OS from 2.3.3 to 2.3.4 and 2.3.5. Just my 2 cents.

*Edit: The E4GT is possibly my next phone, it looks sweet!